And So It Begins... Again

The remodeling of our basement started today. Yes, that means the upstairs bathroom is done! Well, almost done.

The upstairs bathroom is beautiful. I promise to post photos on Flickr this weekend to prove it. Unfortunately, there's a problem: water is seeping under the glass mosaic tile where it meets the top edge of the tub/shower surround, and this is causing a gray discoloration behind the bottom few rows of the tile in a couple of areas. Because the tiles are transparent glass this discoloration is very noticeable, but it also allowed us to discover the problem in time to insist the contractor fix it. So, as work begins in the basement the contractor is also trying to find a non-porous material to replace the existing concrete wall board behind those bottom rows of tile, to not only repair the existing damage but also prevent it from recurring.

When we first discovered the discoloration I was very disheartened and pretty upset. Here we were, finally, with a bathroom to be proud of, and already something is wrong with it. It felt like we somehow didn't deserve to have a beautiful bathroom in our house. We hadn't spent enough money or bought nice enough materials, so of course something would go wrong. But then you realize you just have to take a deep breath...and insist that the problem be fixed so you're getting the finished job you paid for. It helps our contractor wants to keep us happy, if only because we're spending a nice chunk 'o change with her.

Well, it's time for me to go to bed. In addition to the photos of the (almost) finished upstairs bathroom, I'll also post some of the basement demolition on Flickr.